New Teaching File Tools Make MIRC Easier Than Ever

Marc Kohli, M.D., and his colleagues in the Department of Radiology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), knew that making teaching files with RSNA's Medical Imaging Resource Center (MIRC) was simple—now it's even easier, thanks to a new development from their PACS vendor.

RSNA News, April 2011

"We learned of the Teaching File and Clinical Trial Export (TCE) functionality provided by our vendor," Dr. Kohli said, referring to FUJIFILM Medical Systems U.S.A., the first vendor to support the TCE profile designed by the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE®) project. What this means, essentially, is that images can be sent from the PACS to MIRC with a simple mouse click.

Contrast this with alternative methods of exporting images from a PACS—copy and paste or screen capture. "Being able to complete a teaching file document at the point of care from the PACS workstation eliminates steps and streamlines workflow," Dr. Kohli said. "I'm also excited that with the next generation of MIRC, radiology departments will have access to powerful anonymization tools to cut even more steps from the process."

Copying and pasting become even more tedious when dealing with an entire study, versus individual images, Dr. Kohli added. "There really isn't an easy way to create good teaching files with full image sets without either a lot of custom programming or TCE."

Dr. Kohli also appreciates the multiple teaching file tools, including PowerPoint and image editing software, that MIRC offers. "And MIRC is an application that has an open standard format, allowing developers from around the world to create software that works with MIRC documents," he added. "There's even a developer who created an iPhone/iPad application. That wouldn't have been possible with a proprietary format.

"One thing that has limited my creation of teaching files is that I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of information in files that become obsolete when the developer writing the software abandons the project," Dr. Kohli added. "Because MIRC uses open standards, and because it's backed by the RSNA, I know that I'll be able to access my files now and in the future."

"When we talk to radiologists about product enhancements, the request we always hear is 'quick and efficient,'" said Jim Morgan, Fujifilm's Vice President of Medical Informatics. "All of our Synapse products are designed to satisfy this request while also delivering high quality imaging results. The TCE/MIRC integration is fundamental to advancing radiological education and Fujifilm is proud to be able to support RSNA and IUPUI with this important endeavor."